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Books to Prisoners will receive more than 12,000 requests for books this year, and each package of books sent to a prisoner costs $3-$4 to mail. We need your support to connect prisoners with these vital tools for education, self-empowerment, and comfort.

By the Numbers

Donors contributing over $200 receive a free t-shirt! Send us an e-mail and we’ll let you know your t-shirt options.

Books to Prisoners is funded mostly through individual donations – please consider making your contribution monthly so that we can continue our work.

Why donate?

Incarcerated people face significant barriers to being able to access books. The United States continues to lock up millions of citizens without providing adequate support for prison education or prison libraries. In April 2016, one prison librarian in southern California reported a shortage of 20,000 books in the prison’s library due to budget cuts. And that’s the shortage at just one prison. This country currently runs more than 4,000 prisons.

Even in relatively well-funded prisons, many inmates are kept in solitary confinement or on “lockdown”, two common situations which prevent individuals from accessing the library for months on end. Unless mailed directly from an online vendor like Amazon, family members and friends are restricted from mailing books to their loved ones. Many families of prisoners are unable to purchase books to mail; some prisoners have been incarcerated so long that they no longer have connections to the outside.

The donation you make today will send books directly to somebody who is living behind bars.